Anti-Semitism's increasingly thin and hard-to-see line [View all]

Criticism of Israel need not be anti-semitism. Let's get that out there at the beginning.

No one should be criticized as an anti-semite merely for criticizing Israel, but...

It is a hard line to read in many cases and just because someone criticizing Israel does not mean they are anti-semitic, neither does it mean that they are not.

So let me post a few of my own "warning" signs or "tells" for how I -as an individual Jew- attempt to read the lines. But first let me say that it is necessary for us to read those lines and to be vigilant for reasons that this week's Holocaust anniversary makes abundantly clear.

1. If you choose to throw the "Israel/Nazi" thing out there, I have particular disgust for you. It is so offensive and so clearly a matter of emotional baiting that I hardly think it needs to be even said. Someone who chooses to throw the Nazi epithet at a Jew or about Jews is, to me, motivated by something deeper than a mere criticism of Israel's policies. It is beyond ugly. It is straying deeply, IMO, into true hate speech. Remember, I am not talking about a cold analysis of policies discussed rationally. I am talking about incitement in the most intentional manner -and for what purpose? To offend. THAT is why it is unforgivable and deserves to be called hate speech.

2. "Those Zionists!". In my experience of nearly 5 decades of living as a Jew, I have yet to see someone who tosses the title "Zionist!" around as anything other than, if not an anti-semite, than certainly someone with no sympathy for the fact that Jews have been run out of nearly every country in the world merely for being Jewish. Criticizing a country's policies is not the same as saying that the country has no right to exist. Criticism is fine. Anti-Zionsim is not (to me anyway). Anyway, this is my list of warning signs, so you do not have to agree. I should also point out that denying the right to Israel to exist in a world of perhaps 50 or so Muslim nations is -to say the least- problematic.

3. Talking about Jewish power and influence. If you hear people talking about Jews in Hollywood, Jews controlling media, Jews controlling money, they are almost certainly anti-semites. Sorry, that line is rather clear to me. You may not agree. The fact is that Jews were also once very strong in the world of sports, the world of tailoring as well. Jews have received a disproportionate amount of Nobel prizes as well. Many Asians as well, but if we were to hear someone complaining about how Asians control the world, it would be quite clear we were dealing with a racist.

4. If you blame Jews for anti-Semitism, I think you are probably harboring some real anti-semitic tendencies.

5. Finally, if you start an OP inoculating yourself against charges of anti-semitism, I will consider strongly the chance you may be one. As I said at the top, one need not be an anti-semite to criticize Israel, but I guarantee that every anti-semite is a critic of Israel. So do the math (or the Venn Diagram).

Anti-Semitism IS on the rise in Europe and probably the US too. It is not the first time. It is cyclic. Jews know this. We KNOW based on a study of history that we will always be victims of anti-semitism. This is undeniable. Please do not try to stifle our vigilance and our voices by this insidious form of censorship that goes something like "Oh, I guess certain PEOPLE here will call me anti-semitic if I so much as blah blah blah..." --To those people, I say: "All right, I will not assume you are an anti-semite, but do not try to take away my voice in calling out anti-semitism where it does exist" because you can sure as hell bet that there are tens of thousands of gleeful anti-semites hiding BEHIND criticism of Israel.

Rant over.